Suffering: What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow? Part 3

Posted on February 8, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is the third part of answering the question, “What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow?” in the large project of answering the question, “Why does a loving God allow suffering?” Parts 1 and 2 were posted in the previous two days.

Demonic Evil

Demonic evil is the harm and suffering caused by Satan and his demonic organization. He is alive and at work creating confusion, chaos, division and resultant suffering. Hence, people often suffer because Satan is that vicious enemy who hates and is out to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10a). There are some people who blame every problem on Satan and ignore personal and corporate moral evil as well as natural evil. However, Satan and his demons are ones who murder (John 8:44), torment (Acts 5:16), cause bodily harm (Acts 8:4-8), create false wonders and miracles (2 Thes. 2:9-10) and accuse the saints before God (Rev. 12:10). Continue reading →

Suffering: What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow? Part 2

Posted on February 7, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is the second part in answering the question, “What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow?” in the larger project of answering the question, “Why does a loving God allow suffering?” Part one was posted yesterday.

Natural Evil

Natural evil is that which results from the presence of sin in the world. When God created the world as we have it today (Gen. 1), He made it perfect, with harmony and balance, and God declared that it was “very good.” (Gen. 1:31) It was the perfect environment with work that was easy and harmony with the animals. Yet, when Adam sinned, God pronounced a curse on the ground, so that Adam would have laborious work in life, Continue reading →

Suffering: What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow? Part 1

Posted on February 6, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is the first part of the article answering the question, “What kind of suffering from God’s perspective does He allow?” It is part of the larger question, “Why does a loving God allow suffering?”

Suffering is a problem for everyone. A child is born blind, deformed or mentally afflicted; and the question is: Why? The child has done no harm. A good man or woman is racked with pain from a hopeless disease and we ask: Why? Continue reading →

Suffering: How can God Allow Suffering? Part 2

Posted on February 1, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is the second part of the article posted yesterday.

The Question People Ask

When Lee Strobel was preparing to write his best-selling book “The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity,” he completed a nationwide survey asking, “If you could ask God anything what would you ask?” You can imagine the number of questions people thought to ask. However, the top response was, “Why is there suffering and evil in the world?”^{2 Continue reading →}

Suffering: How can God Allow Suffering? Part 1

Posted on January 31, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This begins the first part answering the question. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

We live. We suffer.

We live. We suffer. If you do not suffer, you have not lived very long. The world is full of suffering that comes from a multitude of sources, in a multitude of ways and with a multitude of results and consequences. It seems to us that some people suffer much more than others, until we are in the midst of it. Then everyone else’s suffering pales in comparison to what we are battling. We’re often willing to do just about anything to get rid of the suffering! There are emotional, social and mental struggles that often overshadow physical suffering, but the physical is easier to identify. Continue reading →

Suffering: Pain and Suffering – Introduction

Posted on January 30, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is the introduction to the project answering the question, “How can a loving God allow suffering?” You are invited to search through all the posts and pick up succeeding articles.

In just a few short months of 2012 and 2013, the following gut-wrenching accounts were filed in courtrooms and newspapers across the great United States of America – a land that is known for welcoming people from all over the world with the invitation: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free…^{1 Continue reading →}

Book Review: The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

Posted on January 29, 2014 by shepherdbryan

“The Problem of Pain” was written 73 years ago by the much beloved author C.S. Lewis. He was prolific in writing about and defending the Christian faith. For many years, during the expansion of book printing, C.S. Lewis was a dinner table conversation piece. Continue reading →

Suffering: Who is the God who allows Suffering? Part 3

Posted on January 25, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is part three answering the question, “Who is the God who allows Suffering?” It is part of a larger project answering the question, “Why does a loving God allow Suffering?”

God is Truth

God is Truth and everything that He does is true. Jesus made this clear, “Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.” (John 7:28 NKJ) Again, Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3 NKJ) Continue reading →

Suffering: Who is the God who allows Suffering? Part 2

Posted on January 24, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is part two of our series answering the question, “Who is the God who allows Suffering?’ it is part of a larger project seeking to answer the question “Why does a loving God allow Suffering?”

God is Eternal Life

There is no beginning or end to God; He is eternal life. God is transcendent beyond time, for He exists outside of time. Time began when God created the universe and He will continue beyond the moment when He destroys the universe as we know it, when time ends. Jesus said, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” (John 5:26 NKJ) The Father has eternal life that is not measured in the same way we measure time. He created time for us finite creatures! Moses wrote, “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Ps. 90:2 NKJ) God knows every moment of time perfectly well. He knows when people suffer, when their suffering will be over and how they will respond to it. If God is eternal life, then He is not limited by the length of time a person will suffer. He could prevent its duration if He were to choose, IF He is eternal life. Continue reading →

Suffering: Who is the God who allows Suffering? Part 1

Posted on January 23, 2014 by shepherdbryan

This is part one answering the question, “Who is the God who allows Suffering?” This is part of a project to answer the question, “Why does a loving God allow Suffering?”

One of the most prominent questions throughout history is “How can a loving God allow suffering?” You will hear it today in the media when there is a disaster. You will hear it on secular college campuses that question “religion.” You will hear it from those who question the existence of God. You will hear it from both religious and atheistic people. “If God is loving and good, how can He allow so much suffering?” is the basic question. Some allow the reality that evil and suffering exist to give a reason why they want to reject the Lord. Continue reading →

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